Abstract [en]

Changes of scattering are observed as the grazing angle of incidence of an incoming beam increases and probes different depths in samples. A model has been developed to describe the observed intensity in grazing incidence small angle neutron scattering (GISANS) experiments. This includes the significant effects of instrument resolution, the sample transmission, which depends on both absorption and scattering, as well as the sample structure. The calculations are tested with self-organised structures of two colloidal samples with different size particles that were measured on two different instruments. The model allows calculations for various instruments with defined resolution and can be used to design future improved experiments. The possibilities and limits of GISANS for different studies are discussed using the model calculations.

Abstract [en]

The interactions between perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and a phospholipid bilayer (1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) were investigated at the molecular level using neutron reflectometry. Representative PFASs with different chain length and functional groups were selected in this study including: perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS), perfluorohexanoate (PFHxA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorononanoate (PFNA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and perfluorooctane sulfonamide (FOSA). All PFASs were found to interact with the bilayer by incorporation, indicating PFAS ability to accumulate once ingested or taken up by organisms. The interactions were observed to increase with chain length and vary with the functional group as SO2NH2" role="presentation">(FOSA) > SO2O&#x2212;" role="presentation">(PFOS) > COO−(PFNA). The PFAS hydrophobicity, which is strongly correlated with perfluorocarbon chain length, was found to strongly influence the interactions. Longer chain PFASs showed higher tendency to penetrate into the bilayer compared to the short-chain compounds. The incorporated PFASs could for all substances but one (PFNA) be removed from the lipid membrane by gentle rinsing with water (2 mL min−1). Although short-chain PFASs have been suggested to be the potentially less bioaccumulative alternative, we found that in high enough concentrations they can also disturb the bilayer. The roughness and disorder of the bilayer was observed to increase as the concentration of PFASs increased (in particular for the high concentrations of short-chain substances i.e. PFHxA and PFBS), which can be an indication of aggregation of PFASs in the bilayer.